The Browns caught a break late in the season when three teams that were thought to have potential vacancies as Detroit (Matt Patricia), Jacksonville (Doug Marrone), and Atlanta (Dan Quinn) all decided to give their coaches another season.
Atlanta made a strong late-season rally to finish 7-9 and Quinn took them to a Super Bowl, and Detroit had injuries at quarterback to the point of Browns rookie training camp arm David Blough being forced to start the final five games, so I can see the argument for keeping them, but I'm still trying to figure out why the Jaguars retained Marrone.
Due to those developments, there were only four other teams hiring coaches with the Panthers (Ron Rivera) and Redskins (Jay Gruden) having a head start when they fired their coaches in mid-season and the Giants (Pat Shurmur, who could have seen THAT coming?) and Cowboys (Jason Garrett) making their decisions after the season.
The Redskins moved quickly in taking Ron Rivera off the market in a deal that seemed to be made even before the season ended and roughly all at the same time, the other teams grabbed their guys (Dallas- Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy), New York Giants (New England wide receivers and special teams coach Joe Joyce), and Carolina (Baylor head coach Matt Ruhle), so the Browns don't have to be in a rush to make this hire.
The Browns had brought in McCarthy as their first candidate, asked to interview Ruhle, who wasn't interested in interviewing and didn't speak with Joyce.
From my perspective, I ranked the interviewed candidates into groups-
Previous head coaches (Mike McCarthy, who accepted the Dallas job, Josh McDaniels, New England offensive coordinator and late entrant Jim Schwartz, Philadelphia defensive coordinator)
Current coordinators without head coaching experience (Offensive coordinators Greg Roman of Baltimore, Eric Bieniemy of Kansas City, Kevin Stefanski of Minnesota and San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh) and the
"What in the Hell are they thinking" group of only Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.
While I do have my favorites of the interviewed candidates, there is only one that I would go crazy if they hired (Brian Daboll) and while none are sure things, I don't see any that has a massive red flag to hold against them. just minor concerns as all new hires will possess
McDaniels was unsuccessful in his two years in Denver, Schwartz wasn't a star as head coach in Detroit, Roman has had his best success with mobile quarterbacks, Bieniemy doesn't call plays at Kansas City, Stefanski's Minnesota offenses didn't really perk up until this year when Gary Kubiak arrived as an advisor and Saleh has tons of top talent at his disposal in San Francisco, but wasn't noted as a top guy before that talent infusion.
However, some of them have some positives that make me think that they could be good hires.
McDaniels seems to have learned from his Denver difficulties as his mentor Bill Belichick did from Cleveland and might be ready to grab his second chance.
Schwartz is a dynamic guy that might be best-suited as far as temperament for a team looking for a leader.
Stefanski seems to have hit it off with Paul DePodesta, which would mean good things for a franchise looking for their management to work together.
Roman seems to be the most innovative offensively as he has been able to get mileage from Colin Kapernick and Lamar Jackson that many didn't see happening.
Bieniemy may not call plays for the Andy Reid-led Chiefs, but past Reid assistants in that job have done well in Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy.
Saleh is reported to be a strong disciplinarian on a team that needs it badly after the summer camp atmosphere around Freddie Kitchens.
So, most of these coaches I wouldn't be upset if the Browns selected them, but some I prefer more than others.
It seems that the Browns have unofficially whittled the field down to Josh McDaniels and Kevin Stefanski with Jim Schwartz as the outside dark horse.
There are so many various schools of thought on Josh McDaniels with some sources stating that he'll never work with Paul DePodesta and his numbers bunch with yet others saying that McDaniels wouldn't have a problem with DePodesta as long he was able to have his person in as the general manager.
Kevin Stefanski almost got the job last time and DePodesta was hammering the table for him only to have John Dorsey's choice of Freddie Kitchens sway the day with the Haslams.
If it's Stefanski, DePodesta will have flexed his muscle and established himself as the power player of the Browns.
Jim Schwartz could be the compromise choice as he'd be acceptable to DePodesta with his embracing of analytics and has NFL head coaching experience, which Jimmy Haslam originally said was almost a must.
The rest of the coordinators look like long shots at best, but if I was taking one of them I'd lean toward Greg Roman, who has worked well with quarterback projects and might do well with Baker Mayfield, but Eric Bieniemy intrigues me as well.
If I was making a list of my preferences and not a list of most likely to get the job, I would list them in order as
Josh McDaniels- Experienced and has matured since his last try.
Greg Roman-Like his work with quarterbacks that aren't always top of the line.
Eric Bieniemy- Looks like a coach ready for an opportunity after great success with Patrick Mahomes.
Jim Schwartz-Strong leader that like McDaniels might be better on his second try.
Kevin Stefanski-Something tells me Minnesota's success is more Gary Kubiak than Stefanski for now and Stefanski needs more seasoning as a play-caller.
Robert Saleh- Defensive coordinator at a time when the Browns need an offensive guy with a quarterback that needs someone to ride herd.
Charlie Brown- Has experience with losing football
Colonel Sanders-Is used to dealing with players with greasy fingers and have trouble holding onto things,
Brian Daboll-I'd rather hire the above two than Brian Daboll.
I don't have a ton of confidence in the Haslams getting this right, especially considering the committee consisting of Jimmy, Dee, their son in law, Paul DePodesta and salary cap executive Chris Cooper, but they could still hire the right guy with some of their interviewees.
I just have a feeling that this was two people all the time- Jimmy Haslam pushing for Josh McDaniels and Paul DePodesta pulling for Kevin Stefanski.
That's how I saw it from the start and I think many of these interviews have been window dressing to
protect against offering the job to McDaniels, having McDaniels decide he didn't want it and then go to the fan base with Stefanski, who may very well prove to be an excellent head coach but checks few of the boxes that Jimmy Haslam described in his press conference and would appear to be yet another Browns hire that no one else interviews, although Stefanski was scheduled to interview with Carolina this time after only talking to the Browns in 2019 for their opening.
This way, if McDaniels turns the job down and the Browns then go with Stefanski as the choice, the Haslams can say that they interviewed many candidates, Stefanski stood out, blah, blah.
I'll be very surprised if it's not one of those two and with both of them interviewing today and tomorrow, the Browns have apparently saved the best showdown for last.
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